*This module is one of the foundational modules for the First Year Project (FYP2023). The success of FYP2023 is inseparable from the support of this module.

*Guoyi has been assigned Teaching Assistant Duties for this module in AY23/24 Semester 2. Please proceed to My Teachings @ NUS > CG2111A for further information.

About Module

This module will be for the students who have completed EPP I and the project scope extends to handle challenges in large-scale systems. Similar to EPP I, students will first learn the fundamental principles on certain advanced concepts and then design and programme a real-world system. The module involves designing a complex computer engineering system that facilitates information processing, real-world interfacing, and understanding the effects of certain useful metrics such as, scaling, safety, security, sustainability, societal impact, fault-tolerant design, etc.

From: https://nusmods.com/modules/CG2111A/engineering-principles-and-practice-ii

Project Introduction

Over the years, there has been a noticeable increase in major natural disasters. For example, in the USA, the number of major natural disasters has escalated from ‘three per year in the 1980s to 13 per year during the 2010s’. This increase has heavily contributed to a higher casualty rate and death toll. Thus, in today’s day and age, it is of utmost importance to utilize the advancements in technology to design search and rescue robots to effectively identify survivors and ensure a lower death toll – while lowering the risks faced by human rescuers.

Our ALEX robot essentially mirrors the features of an actual search and rescue robot. ALEX uses the RPLIDAR to perform a scan of its surroundings to provide the rescue team with an image of that area which would help in the identification of survivors. ALEX is also controlled by a laptop to move in any direction or angle the user intends for it to travel in, which is useful in trying to maneuver through areas that are hard to enter or narrow. Its minimal power consumption allows it to not only map for a longer time but also maneuver in these dangerous areas for a longer time, allowing for a higher chance for survivors to be identified. The color identification of the ALEX, which was used to identify red and green colored bottles, emulates the identification of injured or healthy survivors respectively. As part of the assessment, the ALEX must also be able to overcome the hump and minimize the number of bumps against the walls while navigating the maze.

Project Report

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Acknowledgment

We would like to sincerely thank Professor Ravi S/O Suppiah and the TAs for their unwavering support throughout the course of this module. Without their constant guidance be it through helping us try to offload our RViz or answering our relentless questions regarding the plethora of bugs we faced, we would not have made it this far in this highly challenging module. We would also like to thank Uncle Jalil for being so understanding towards our needs, and always lending us equipment without needing to sign any form. We are truly grateful for his help.

Under the guidance of Professor Colin, we have implemented secure communication between Raspberry Pi and Arduino within a local area network. The ArduiNUS team has also developed and designed a team showcase webpage, https://ArduiNUS.com, based on the TCP/IP architecture and uses public and private keys of HTTPS level to encrypt access data from the global Internet. This is our first experience with the TCP/IP architecture, and we believe that after studying Module CG2271, we will have a deeper understanding of computer network architecture.

Module CG2111A has provided us with an excellent platform, allowing us to utilize its resources to reproduce some higher-level algorithms like PID Control Theory and Fuzzy Logic. As we overcome difficulties, we increasingly appreciate how important the knowledge summarized and organized by our professors is. We would like to sincerely thank Associate Professor Chee Meng Chew, and Associate Professor Prahlad Vadakkepat from Advanced Robotics Center, NUS. Doctor Andi Sudjana Putra from Dean’s Office of CDE, NUS. Associate Professor Xiang Cheng from the Faculty of Electrical & Computer Engineering, NUS. Doctor Xian Yuanjie and Doctor Guo Haoren from Control & Simulation Laboratory, NUS.

We are delighted that, as computer engineers, we can apply the knowledge from our textbooks to address real-world problems.

Special thanks to the Digital Systems & Applications Laboratory, NUS.

Special thanks to the Control & Simulation Laboratory, NUS.

Special thanks to Uncle Jalil, a kind staff at the Digital Systems & Applications Laboratory, NUS.